We all know that Facebook is a powerful tool in the age of
social media. While it is mostly used to kill time during class or stalk the
crap out of someone you knew in high school, it can also be used for more
nefarious purposes. Oooooh yes, I’m talking about political posts. And not just
regular political posts, I’m talking about people who post something on
Facebook just to ignite an argument for all to see. While some of you cool cats
may call this “trolling”, I just call it evil. I commend my fellow Americans
who stood tall in the face of political Facebook posts this year, and I would
also like to reach out to those who were unfortunate enough to have had their lives
destroyed by them. The sun will rise again…. unless… unless OBAMA puts another
SOCIALIST TAX…… I’m… I am so sorry. I don’t know what just came over me there.
What I meant to say is… that ROMNEY IS A LOSERFACE WHO NEVER…… oh goodness…. I
did it again…. my apologies.
In the dark shadow cast by this awful election season, I propose a solution so that future generations can live in a world where election season does not ruin everyone’s lives. I make this plea directly to the top (Yes, that means you, Zuckerberg). I propose that we completely shut down Facebook during all the debates, and also for the entire week after a president is chosen. This will be a step in the right direction, but I must make it clear that this solution will not eradicate all political trolling. My thought process is that if we delay the political posts from being made, people might actually think about what they are saying. Because…. well because if…. IF THIS COUNTRY HAS TO DEAL WITH 4 MORE YEARS OF _______ THEN I’M MOVING TO CANADA!
- Eric Richard
I love this. I'll admit I wasn't strong enough and took the bait sometimes. If someone posted an ignorant status I would respond with facts on facts on facts on facts. I can't help myself. Melissa smash.
ReplyDeleteBut I made sure not to make my own status' political related except for the actual night Obama was elected. I said something about how I felt really united with everyone and that I hope the right decision was made and that we can move forward...very tame.
You know I love everything that you write. And I'm sorry to say I was TOTALLY one of the people trolling all over facebook on election day. I don't think that closing facebook and twitter during the election and debates will really solve anything though. I troll when people are very obviously uneducated about what they are saying. I think the problem is that during election season everyone becomes an expert on politics and truly believes that. If people were to take time to educate themselves more then I think there would be less political trolling. The example you give about people saying they will move to canada isn't really trolling in my opinion....Some actually believe that they will move if ________ gets elected. I know that I'm uneducated about politics and instead of trying to pretend I know what I'm talking about, I try and keep my mouth shut...unless someone is commenting about how "they hate it when people call Romney 'mittens'". Because when that happens, I will totally take an opportunity to troll.
ReplyDeleteI COMPLETELY agree with your statement that, "I troll when people are very obviously uneducated about what they are saying. I think the problem is that during election season everyone becomes an expert on politics and truly believes that." This past election, all of a sudden every ignorant person was "politically informed" and had some opinion that he/she was willingly to share. Now I consider myself fairly informed, and I definitely have opinions of some of the issues that I feel are most important, but during election time you can really see the stereotypical uneducated people who simply want to hear themselves talk. It's almost amusing, but then again it's also kind of disheartening when you see this type of people actually voting for no other reason than a candidate's race or public opinion of marriage. Really?
DeleteHahahaha first of all, this post is hilarious (I love the memes). Secondly, it's absolutely true! I definitely know of a few people who post controversial statements on Facebook or Twitter simply to spark some sort of political/religious argument or get a rise out of people. While you can't necessarily just shut down social media sites during something like an election, I think it's important to take the high road when it comes to debates. Yes, it's fine to have certain beliefs, and it's GREAT to vote; however, trolling on Facebook/Twitter is simply unnecessary and immature. My personal political opinion is that we, as a nation, are so incredibly divided, and you only have to look at some of the states (especially the swing states- I mean, Florida, are you kidding me?!) who went almost 50/50 this past election for Obama and Romney. I think that making stupid posts bashing the candidate you don't like and the people who voted for/supported him is just plain rude, and it's only furthering the divide between the two political parties. It's perfectly fine to have opinions as long as we share them respectfully, but unfortunately social media sites are breeding grounds for trash talk and "trolling." Why can't we all just get along?
ReplyDeleteThis was extremely fun to read. I found myself laughing and recalling all the moments when people posted "OBAMA IS PRESIDENT" and all of the posts reading "So much for fixing the country." Trolling gets out of hand so quickly but with all of the social media and a plethora of uninformed citizens it's just what you get. Shutting Facebook down and other sites would help the political trolling most definitely but do you really want to deal with all of the complaints after the fact that they shut Facebook down?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that trolling is unnecessary. People should educate themselves more before trying to debate on topics they know nothing about. If I did not know exactly what a candidate said about something I kept my mouth shut. Sadly everyone does not think twice about the things that they write. That is just how America is and it is sad. But shutting down social media during that time will not help in my opinion.
ReplyDeletePeople be crazy.
ReplyDeleteRather than shutting down Facebook during Election week, I instead propose that we kill all the conservatives so that the more intelligent half of us won't have to read their ignorant nonsense.
Totally kidding. What I meant to say is that I can't handle four more years of a Liberal Muslim Socialist President. Eric, can I carpool with you to Canada?
Instead, I'm moving to Colombia to grow coffee on the wonderful hillsides and bask in the glory of the land's natural beauty every day of my life, until I eventually die peacefully, surrounded by my family and loved ones.
DeleteI agree with everything you just wrote. I feel as if people should educate themselves before making a decision that's as important as choosing which president to vote for. There is nothing that I hate more then an ignorant child voting for whomever their parents tell them to vote for. My political views are very different then my parents but I would't have known this if I never educated myself.
ReplyDeleteAnna
I appreciate your use of memes in your post. Those were definitely used on Facebook to show one's displeasure or happiness with a candidate. I wish that Facebook had been shut down during the presidential election; I've never been more compelled to unfriend people. It just gets nasty, and there is really no point in posting your preference. People who do that are just baiting for a reaction, and that's a gross misuse of social media, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWith all of the arguing that goes on social sites about elections, especially this election, it seems as though people degrade themselves to a level of savagery. In the past, people and president-elects would debate and disagree, but would still treat each other with respect. They would have the mindset of "I don't agree with his politics, but he's a cool guy." Nowadays, people get really personal, including the president-elects. (There is NO NEED for a person's personal life to be on political ad commercials if they have nothing to do with the election whatsoever!) As for the Facebookers and the Tweeters, you'd think the people who post things were destined to be enemies. I know people who would delete people from their profiles just because of their political reviews. Then, there are those statuses with 47 comments under them (in paragraph form) going from political views to straight racism.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, all of that arguing was entirely unnecessary.
This is so on point. The proof is always in the eating. I agree with the others this is funny, but true. I think it's sad that we do the things that we do. What was the point for Trolling Facebook or Twitter during the election? I think a lot of this has to do with following the crowd and not doing personal research. Posting these types of post only causes confusion, and there are a lot of people looking for opportunity, or are a bit confused. However, this is America and people will do what people do. The question is will it change the way people think? Maybe, but I don't think so.
ReplyDelete